


Eye of the raven

by Ink Weaver (smaugholmeswatson)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Evil, Gen, Psychological Horror, Ravens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 20:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12690060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaugholmeswatson/pseuds/Ink%20Weaver
Summary: A raven is usally a herald of death and this is one raven that is guaranteed to send you mad!A Edgar Allan Poe inspired story that was written for an assessment for GCSE English. I was only 15 at the time so please forgive the poor sentence structures and grammar, I was still developing my writing style at the time.





	Eye of the raven

The full moon shone like a great blind, milky eye, up on high in the midnight sky. Stark against a backdrop of silvery moonlight, the ruins of an ancient castle stood on the hill. In and out of the castles hollow, staring eyes the wind whistled, sounding like the breathing of a slumbering creature. An cold, icy rain lashed furiously at the crumbling, moss covered stones. In the sky a single Raven flapped slowly across the moon drenched sky. Beneath it the Raven noticed a man, hunched up against the driving rain. The raven gave a caw that chilled the blood and froze the marrow, sounding like a death bell ringing out. Then It angled its wings and plunged down like a streak of feathery death towards the man below it... 

* * * * 

I was cold and very late. The icy rain beat down on me feeling like a thousand knives biting at the unprotected skin on the back of my neck. In the distance a blurry outline appeared through the driving rain. I squinted but still it was impossible to discern. Hopefully it was some type of shelter so I headed towards it. Soon I could see it was a ruin of what looked like a castle, I hoped that it had some of the walls still standing. Nearly bent over double I arrived there and looked for shelter. It was not long before I found some. I hunched up into the corner and I prayed that the rain would end soon. I closed my eyes; it was going to be a long night. 

When I woke up the rain had stopped but the air was still chill. I got up to hurry home for my wife is pregnant and she is due to give birth any time during this week. From somewhere high above me I heard the caw of a Raven. I ignored it for I had no time to stop. 

The bird above me gave another persistent caw and this time I looked up at it. And I was shocked to see the bird hurtling down with its claws outstretched. The Ravens eyes were like specks of a hellish fire and its feathers glistened in the waxing moon. Quickly I drew my knife from its sheaf and as the Ravens claws sort my eyes, I brought the knife up and I plunged it into the birds gaping beak. With a strangled cry it fell dead at my feet. I stared at it for a moment, shaken by what had just happened. As far as I am aware ravens do not usually go round attacking people. Wanting to get away from this curse place I quickly continued on my way home. 

After an weary hour of walking I saw the familiar lights of home in the distance. I sped up with a new light feeling in my heart and my evil deed deserted my mind like water through a sieve. Putting my hand on the splintered, rough wood of the door, I flung it open. But the sight that met me was one that haunted me every night and my every waking moment.

There sitting in the middle of the floor was my wife, tears running down her pale face. I rushed to her at once and I demanded to know what was wrong. She looked at me with a expression on her face that stabbed into my heart. With a shaking finger she pointed in the direction of our bedroom. Slowly I got to my feet and started in that direction. I hesitated at the door before going in. There lying in the middle of the bed was the most frightful sight. It was a child that had been born to my wife but it was utterly deformed. Its body was that of an ordinary human but that was where the normality ended. The head of the child had black feathers all over it, a sharp protruding beak and the eyes of a hellish fire. It had the head of a Raven!! 

I recoiled from it in disgust and I realised that the Raven I had killed had obviously punished me for my dreadful deed. I drew my small knife from its sheaf again and raised it above the demon in front of me. At that moment my wife rushed into the room and when she saw me, a scream escaped her and she grabbed a hold of my arm to stop me. In my eagerness to kill the creature and swung round and brought the knife down inn a savage move. 

My wife slumped to the ground with a sigh. I then brought the knife whistling down and in one movement cut the child's head from its body. When the grisly deed was done I turned around and a animal cry escaped from my throat when I realised what I had done. Swiftly I rushed to my wives side but alas she was already dead. The knife slipped from my faltering grasp and I sank to the floor as great, hacking sobs consumed my body. 

Later I cast the body of the Raven headed child into a ditch outside the house and when this was done, I set about the task of burying my wife. I dug a grave by the side of the front door and then I tenderly laid my wives body into it. When this was done I stood there for a second before turning my back and going back inside. I went straight to bed and fell quickly asleep. 

That night my dreams were tormented by raging fires in which seemed to be dancing creatures with the most hideous features. Then the fires seemed to leap out of my dream and become real. With a cry I woke up with beads of sweat on my brow. I sat up when I realised that the fires in my dreams were real and the walls were really scorching in front of my eyes. I leaped out of bed and I ran out of the house. When I was out I stood in shock as I looked back at my house. The place was a raging inferno!! 

I whimpered as the smoke spiralling above the flames seemed to take the shape of a giant smoke, grey Raven. I turned my back and in my terror I ran. And I didn't care where I went I just knew that I had to get away from the Raven that seemed to mock me. I ran into the middle of a great field. And I unsheathed my knife for the last time. With that I plunged it into my body and I hoped that I would no longer be tormented by this demon Raven. With that the man crumpled and he hit the ground. With blood streaming from his body the man died. But as he died from his body rose a Raven with eyes of hellish fire. It gave a caw and it flew into the sky where it disappeared. The raven was never to be seen in this world again. 


End file.
